MetService had issued a strong wind watch for all of Otago except Clutha, lasting from 8am to 11am today, saying northwest winds might approach severe gale in exposed places.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand station officer Calvin Harradine from the St Kilda station said the fire near Outram started in a slash heap that was burned about a week ago.
Crews were called to the vicinity of Wehenga Rd, Hindon, about 8am today.
High winds had whipped up the fire and sparks had landed in nearby pine trees.
Crews from Outram Volunteer Fire Station and St Kilda, along with four other rural appliances, assisted to extinguish the blaze.
Rural fire crews remained at the scene dampening it down.
The fire was not a major one and the section the St Kilda crew had dealt with was about 10sqm.
However, the firefighting response was made more difficult by the lack of ready availability to water and the need to bring it in, Mr Harradine said.
Power outages
Aurora Energy says strong winds caused outages after two trees fell on lines in the Glenorchy and Cromwell areas overnight and early this morning, affecting customers in Glenorchy, Kinloch, Paradise and Routeburn.
Fault crews were working to remove the trees and power was expected to be restored about 4pm.
There was also an unplanned outage in parts of Mosgiel and Wingatui near Dunedin this morning, caused by a damaged insulator that has now been repaired.
With strong winds forecast across parts of Otago, people were reminded to stay well clear of fallen power lines or damaged electrical equipment and treat them as live at all times.
Any downed power lines, or trees in power lines, should be notified to Aurora Energy, the spokeswoman said.
